CEO and Cofounder of CartDB

One of the challenges faced in the early days of big-geo-data was the complex, costly, and mostly proprietary systems required to handle and visualize such masses of data. Javier de la Torre founded CartoDB in 2012 with a vision to democratize data analysis and visualization. CartoDB is a cloud-based service where users can use a free platform or deploy their own instances of open-source software. As CEO, he is responsible for driving the company growth and expansion to new and broader markets. He is passionate about all things data and its potential to improve the way we make decisions in our world.

Javier started his career as a conservation scientist, applying data-sharing technologies to analyze and visualize endangered species. In 2007, he founded Vizzuality, a geospatial company dedicated to bridging the gap between science and policy-making by the better use of data. He holds a degree in agriculture engineering and environmental science from the Universidad Politéncia de Madrid and Freie Universität Berlin. He is an advising member in multiple organizations, such as the European Biodiversity Observation Network.